Number Patterns Teaching Resources
Explore number patterns in your maths classes this school year with fun worksheets, games and more teacher resources created to help your students understand how numbers in a sequence relate to one another.
Aligned with the Australian Version 9.0 maths standards, the printable and digital activities in this collection were created by the maths teachers on the Teach Starter team to help you save time on your lesson plans.
Whether this is your first year teaching about number patterns or you're just looking for a little extra help, we've got you covered. Read on for a primer from our teacher team! We explain what number patterns are so you can share with your class, plus we explore three common patterns.
What Are Number Patterns? A Kid-Friendly Definition
A number pattern is a series of numbers that each follow the same rule. These patterns or sequences can help us find missing numbers or identify what number will come next in a series.
For example, let's say you are given the following list of numbers:
- 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24
This is an example of a number pattern in which the next number in the series is 4 more than the previous number. Once you can identify the pattern in a series of numbers like this one, you can then use that pattern to determine what number comes next or even what numbers could have come before the list began.
This is one of the many reasons number patterns are an important part of building our students' algebraic reasoning skills. They help kids understand how numbers can be related to one another and apply what they know about those relationships to solve problems.
3 Common Types of Number Patterns
We can't talk about number patterns without breaking down the different types your students are going to encounter in their maths journey!
Linear Patterns
Linear patterns are number patterns in which the numbers increase or decrease by the same amount each time.
The example used above — in which each number in the series increased by a quantity of 4 — is a simple example of a linear pattern.
Geometric Number Patterns
Another type of pattern students may have to contend with is the geometric number pattern. This type involves numbers that are multiplied or divided by a constant factor.
The multiplication table is an example of a geometric number pattern.
Recursive Patterns
Students will have to make full use of their understanding of the four whole number operations to work with recursive patterns. That's because this pattern involves finding each successive number in the sequence by performing a specific operation on the previous number(s).
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1–120 Number Charts With Missing Numbers
A set of 5 worksheets with missing numbers from 1–120.
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Christmas Skip Counting - Printable Puzzles
Grab a set of 10 printable Christmas puzzles to help students skip count in the classroom.
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Roll to 100 Odd and Even Game
Create a fun maths station with this roll to 100 game where students show their knowledge of odd and even numbers up to 100.
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Skip Counting by 2,3,4,5, & 10 Mystery Picture
Have your students uncover a mystery picture by solving skip counting problems to and multiply by 2,3,4,5 & 10.
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Order of Operations Dice Game
A set of 6 order of operations dice activity mats.
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Patterns and Algebra Worksheets - Year 4
4 patterns and algebra worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Differentiated Number Pattern Worksheets for Year 3
Use this differentiated year 3 maths worksheet to allow students to practise completing number patterns and determining their rules.
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Patterns and Algebra Worksheets - Year 6
4 patterns and algebra worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Ten More, Ten Less Task Cards
A set of 24 task cards to enable students to practise identifying ten more and ten less than a number.
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Patterns and Algebra Worksheets - Year 5
4 patterns and algebra worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Odd and Even Properties Student Cheat Sheet
Help students remember the properties of odd and even numbers with this student cheat sheet.
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Maths Mazes (Number Sequencing)
Skip count your way through these mazes that focus on number sequencing.
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Find and Colour – Prime and Composite Numbers
Encourage your year 6 students to identify prime and composite numbers up to 100 with this free find and colour worksheet.
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Identifying Number Patterns and their Rules PowerPoint
A 15 page editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when introducing number pattern rules.
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Algebraic Expressions – Interactive Activity
Practise writing, reading and solving algebraic expressions with this set of interactive activities.
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Fives (Turtle) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by fives.
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Patterns and Algebra Worksheets - Year 3
2 patterns and algebra worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Skip Counting Worksheet — Counting by 2, 5 and 10
Practise counting by 2, 5 and 10 with this skip counting worksheet.
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Cartesian Plane Poster
A poster that explains the features of Cartesian Planes.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Foundation
10 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Decimal Patterns Maths Mazes
Find your way through this set of maths mazes by determining the addition or subtraction pattern in a sequence of decimal numbers.
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Counting by 5's Maze
Get to the party by skip counting to 100 with our counting by 5’s worksheet.
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Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Seahorses) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
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Prime and Composite Numbers Poster
A poster to help students learn the vocabulary associated with prime and composite numbers.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Skip Counting by 1, 2, 5 and 10 Sorting Activity
Set up this sorting activity as a small group or rotation task for your students to practise thier skip counting skills.
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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.
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One More, One Less Task Cards
A set of 24 task cards to enable students to practise identifying one more and one less than a number.
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Guided Maths Groups – National Numeracy Learning Progression – Task Cards
A set of 32 task cards with activities for tracking student progress along the numeracy learning progression.
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1–120 Number Board
A black and white chart with numbers 1–120 that can be used for a variety of activities.
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Number and Place Value Worksheets - Year 1
8 number and place value worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Odd and Even Numbers PowerPoint
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when introducing odd and even numbers to younger students.